Scottish Parliament

Written Answers

Wednesday 17 November 1999

Scottish Executive

Culture

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what proposals Scottish Opera has made to reduce or eliminate any deficit and what assistance, if any, it has requested from the Scottish Executive in that regard.

Mr Sam Galbraith: Discussions are continuing between the Scottish Arts Council and Scottish Opera. Scottish Opera has not requested any assistance from the Scottish Executive.

Education

Ms Margo MacDonald (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many primary and secondary school teachers have suffered nervous breakdowns or have been on extended absence due to mental illness in the past five years.

Mr Sam Galbraith: Information on the prevalence of mental illness within the various client groups is not held centrally. However, local authorities as employers are sensitive to the importance of recognising and supporting employees who may suffer from mental illness.

Environment

Mr Kenneth Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what financial provision will be available to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency in 2000-01 and 2001-02.

Sarah Boyack: Future spending plans are given in the Finance Consultation Paper published today by the Minister for Finance. This proposes grant-in-aid of £17.3 million for SEPA in 2000-01 and £17.8 million in 2001-02. This provision, together with income from charging schemes, will allow SEPA to regulate industrial emissions effectively, co-ordinate implementation of a National Waste Strategy and improve the quality of Scotland’s water environment.

Environment

Mr Kenneth Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it intends to implement the targets in the Landfill Directive in Scotland.

Sarah Boyack: I am pleased to launch, today, a public consultation paper which discusses and seeks views on options how the targets laid out in the Landfill Directive for the reduction in biodegradable municipal waste sent to landfill may be achieved.

Health

Ms Margo MacDonald (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many NHS nurses have suffered nervous breakdowns or have been on extended absence due to mental illness in the past five years.

Susan Deacon: I refer to the answer to S1W-1813 relating to teachers.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will create a National Institute for Clinical Excellence in Scotland to serve the Scottish health service.

Susan Deacon: I refer to the answer to question S1W-2593, given to Kenneth Macintosh MSP.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will allow the flu drug Relenza to be prescribed in Scotland.

Susan Deacon: Zanamivir (Relenza) is authorised as a prescription only medicine for the treatment of influenza A and B in adults and adolescents, 12 years of age and over.

  In Scotland, arrangements exist within each Health Board area whereby Drug and Therapeutic Committees consider the available evidence, including that provided by manufacturers, and provide advice to clinicians and Boards on new health technologies, including drugs. The Executive is happy for these arrangements to continue at present and we understand that some Committees have already assessed the available evidence and issued advice on Relenza to their local prescribers.

Health

Mr Kenneth Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to establish a centre to provide the NHS with advice on new health technologies, including drugs.

Susan Deacon: The White Paper Designed to Care included a commitment to support the establishment of a Scottish Health Technology Assessment Centre to evaluate and provide advice to the NHS in Scotland on cost-effectiveness of all innovations in health care, including new drugs.

  A consultation paper setting out how such a centre might sit within the wider Scottish quality agenda was issued last December. It sought views on how the centre might engage and involve the NHS, the public, patients and other key stakeholders in the identification, selection and assessment of topics, both new and established, and in the dissemination of advice. Some 120 well argued and generally supportive responses were received from this consultation process.

  In March of this year, Dr Angus MacKay was asked to chair a small multi-disciplinary, cross-speciality working group to consider these comments and to develop a more detailed implementation plan for the proposed centre.

  The Implementation Working Group has now provided me with the report and I am today arranging for copies to be made available in the library. Briefly, the group has recommended:

  a process that the centre might adopt for its work;

  the professional and public relationships necessary for it to achieve its objectives;

  how it should keep its wide constituency of interests informed and involved in its processes to encourage the acceptance and implementation of its advice.

  The report concludes that the centre should be established as a Special Health Board and endorses the consultation paper’s view that the centre must be seen to be independent of the Health Service management when assessing evidence and generating its advice.

  It recommends that the centre should draw on Scotland’s best academic and clinical advice and, working with the NHS and patient representatives, make recommendations designed to encourage effective new treatments moving smoothly into mainstream practice. It also notes that the centre should have a role in reviewing existing treatments to ensure that resources are not being spent on those that are not effective.

  The centre will begin operation early in spring next year.

Highlands and Islands

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what legal expenses have been incurred by Highlands and Islands Enterprise in connection with the judicial review action raised by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) over the Cairn Gorm Funicular Railway, what sum has been awarded by way of judicial expenses and what sums have so far been paid in this respect by the RSPB and the WWF.

Mr Alasdair Morrison: This is an operational matter for Highlands and Islands Enterprise. I will ask the Chairman of that organisation to write to Mr Ewing.

Housing

Dr Winnie Ewing (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that there is a need for a national housebuilding policy.

Ms Wendy Alexander: The Executive committed itself in its programme for Government to ensuring that 18,000 new and improved homes are built over the next three years for affordable renting or low-cost owner-occupation. In addition, there are already a number of complementary national policies which affect housebuilding across Scotland. These include technical provisions such as building regulations and planning guidelines as well as housing policies more generally. The Housing Green Paper also consulted on the proposal for a national strategic framework for housing in Scotland and we are considering how best to take this proposal forward in the light of views expressed in response to the Green Paper. The design quality of housing will also be addressed in work underway to develop a national policy on architecture for Scotland.

Justice

Mr Duncan McNeil (Greenock and Inverclyde) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to legislate on intrusive investigative techniques.

Mr Jim Wallace: We shall introduce legislation to regulate the use of intrusive investigative techniques, by the police, and certain other public authorities operating in Scotland.

  A consultation paper outlining our proposals will be issued in due course.

Social Work

Ms Margo MacDonald (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many social workers have suffered nervous breakdowns or have been on extended absence due to mental illness in the past five years.

Iain Gray: I refer to the answer to S1W-1813 relating to teachers.

Sport

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the level is of public funding being provided to support Scottish gymnastics by local authority area.

Rhona Brankin: The detailed breakdown of expenditure by local authority area can only be supplied by individual local authorities. Scottish Executive funding for sport is generally channelled through  sportscotland which, in turn, gives grant assistance to governing bodies and works with local authorities on a range of initiatives. During the financial year ended 31 March 1999  sportscotland gave Scottish Gymnastics grant assistance of £100,000 from Exchequer funding.

  Support for gymnastics from the Lottery Sports Fund has included one award of £50,000 through the Junior Groups Programme, 21 awards totalling £61,433 through the Awards for All Programme, 37 awards totalling £135,184 through the Talented Athlete Programme and four awards totalling £108,348 through the Capital Awards Programme.